The Butler Bulldogs live for March. Few small programs have had the continued success that Butler has had over the last decade, making the NCAA Tournament in 10 out of the last 12 seasons.
Butler has won eight of its 10 first round game, but will face a difficult challenge when it takes on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Arkansas has not made it to the Sweet 16 in over two decades, but this is one of the best teams the school has had in recent memory. The Razorbacks knocked off seven different tournament teams this year and were the first team in the country that was able to contain Trae Young.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, March 16, 2018, at 3:10 p.m. ET at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The game will be televised live on truTV. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game throughout March Madness.
Opening NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Butler -1.5
Arkansas +1.5
Over/Under 152.5
At one point this season, it looked like Butler could get one of the top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. However, the Bulldogs lost six of their last nine games and plummeted in the eyes of the committee. The most inexplicable loss came at home against a bad Georgetown team. Butler was an 11.5-point favorite per the CBB betting odds in that one, but lost by four.
Arkansas is one of a number of SEC teams looking to prove why the conference deserved eight bids. The SEC had plenty of good, but not great teams this season, and that led to many more getting into the NCAA Tournament then usual. Arkansas did not play well the last time we saw them, falling behind Tennessee by 19 at the half in the SEC semifinals.
Player to Watch
It’s all about Kelan Martin for the Bulldogs. Martin has been one of the best players in the country this season, leading the Big East in scoring and picking up All-Big East honors in the process.
Martin’s numbers don’t jump off at the page at you. He isn’t extremely efficient, hitting just a shade over 44 percent of his field goals, and he doesn’t overwhelm you from downtown.
If you watch Martin play though, you’ll have a strong appreciation for his game. Butler isn’t a very creative team on offense, so Martin has to make something out of nothing quite often. The fact that he can do that, and lead the team in rebounding as a guard, shows you just what he’s capable of.
Key Stat
This isn’t Nolan Richardson’s 40 minutes of you know what, but the Razorbacks are going to put you through the ringer in other ways. Arkansas has been one of the top three-point shooting teams in the country this season, and it’s largely due to the work of Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon.
Both players have taken nearly 200 threes, and they have nearly identical numbers. Barford has connected on one more three on one less attempt, so he is hitting 43.6 percent from range, while Macon is sinking 42.9 percent of his attempts.
Free March Madness ATS Picks
This looks to be a bad matchup for Butler. The Bulldogs weakness is defending the three, and that’s not going to bode well against the Razorbacks. Butler is outside the top 300 in defending the three this season, and that could mean a field day for Barford and Macon. To be fair to the Bulldogs, they play in a conference with the best perimeter shooters in the country, but they were dead last in the Big East in this category too.
The line movement has shifted towards Butler since the game was announced. The original NCAAB betting line had this game as a pick ‘em, but the Bulldogs are now a slight favorite. That creates a little more value in taking the Razorbacks on the moneyline.
NCAAB Basketball Betting Odds: Arkansas 76, Butler 73
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